Only the Lonely

By Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn
1958

Although often remembered as the greatest vocal interpreter of popular song, Frank Sinatra also had a number of memorable songs written specifically for him, and this may have been the very most memorable. As he often did, the Chairman turned to close friends Van Heusen and Cahn to write for him a title song for his new ballad album in 1958, an album that would otherwise be filled with long-popular old chestnuts like "One for My Baby", "Willow Weep for Me" and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry". This stark and wistful number was the perfect title track for what many consider Sinatra's greatest album--and one that has recently gotten a stellar new 60th anniversary re-release.

Lyrics: 

Each place I go only the lonely go
Some little small cafè
The songs I know only the lonely know
Each melody recalls a love that used to be

The dreams I dream only the lonely dream
Of lips as warm as may
That hopeless scheme only the lonely scheme
That soon somewhere you'll find the one that used to care

And you recall each fun time
Those picnics at the beach when love was new
It well could be the one time
A hopeless little dream like that comes true

If you find love hang on to each caress
And never let love go
For when it's gone you'll know the loneliness
The heartbreak only the lonely know

Recorded By:

Aretha Franklin
Shirley Horn
Iggy Pop
Tierney Sutton
Diana Krall

My Way

By Claude Francois, Jacques Revaux & Paul Anka
1968

Although Frank himself never considered it one of his best, we celebrate his birthday today with what is undoubtedly one of his signature records, and a song that is second only to Lennon & McCartney's "Yesterday" as the most recorded of all time. Originally a French tune by Francois and Revaux, the young Anka heard it and decided to repurpose it for an aging, disillusioned Chairman, who had all but decided to quit the business. Anka slightly altered the melody and gave it English lyrics, and presented it as a gift to Frank, whose recording would result in one the legendary singer's most massive hits. It may not be Porter, Gershwin or Mercer, but it's undeniably Frank, and a song that kept him relevant in the Beatles era. It's been attempted by everyone from Elvis to Sid Vicious, but no one made it his own to the degree that Sinatra did. For whom could those lyrics ever be more true?

Happy Birthday, Francis Albert!

Lyrics:

And now, the end is nearAnd so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and ev'ry highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way

Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do , I saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
And through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way

I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way,
"Oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my way"

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
The right to say the things he feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!

Recorded By: 

Nina Simone
Elvis Presley
Sid Vicious
Gipsy Kings
Andy Williams
Gonzo the Great
Shirley Bassey
Tom Jones
Andrea Bocelli
Patti Lupone

I Get a Kick Out of You

By Cole Porter
1934

Five years ago today, I kicked off the Standard of the Day blog with Cole Porter's "Cheek to Cheek". And today, I celebrate that anniversary with another Porter song, which became a signature tune for the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra. Of course, 20 years before Frank famously recorded it for his Swing Easy album, it was introduced in the Broadway musical Anything Goes, by Ethel Merman. The song is quintessential Porter, with a soaring melody that is matched perfectly by its wry, yet poignant lyric. It's original lyrical reference to cocaine was controversial for the time, and later substituted with other lyrics (even by Merman and Sinatra themselves). Yet Porter's sophistication is so irresistible that such substitution is silly and unnecessary. This is one of the very best from possibly the best of the giants of American popular song, and thus fitting that it would become so identified with Sinatra, perhaps the greatest interpreter of popular song. And of course, it perfectly sums up what Standard of the Day is all about.

Thanks for continually supporting this labor of love, and I hope to continue to bring great music to you for many more years! I sure do get a kick out of it...

Lyrics:

My story is much to sad to be told,
But practically everything leaves me totally cold.
The only exception I know is the case
When we're out on a quiet spree,
Fighting vainly the old ennui,
And I suddenly turn and see
Your fabulous face...

I get no kick from champagne.
Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all,
So tell me why should it be true
That I get a kick out of you?

Some they may go for cocaine.
I'm sure that if I took even one sniff
It would bore me terrifically too.
Yet I get a kick out of you.

I get a kick everytime I see you standing there before me.
I get a kick, though it's clear to see
You obviously don't adore me.

I get no kick in a plane.
Flying too high with some guy in the sky
Is my idea of nothing to do.
But I get a kick out of you!

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Charlie Parker
Artie Shaw
Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson
Dinah Washington

This Love of Mine

By Sol Parker, Henry Sanicola & Frank Sinatra
1941

As a way of commemorating the birthday of Frank Sinatra, perhaps the greatest ambassador of the Great American Songbook, we're spotlighting one of the handful of songs he actually had a hand in writing. Possibly his most famous composition (he served as lyricist), "This Love of Mine" was written during Frank's time with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra, and it was Dorsey's band that introduced it, with a record that rose to #3 on the charts. It would forever be associated with the crooner, who re-recorded the tune on his seminal 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours.

Lyrics:

This love of mine goes on and on,
Tho' life is empty since you have gone.
You're always on my mind, tho' out of sight
It's lonesome thru the day,
But oh! the night.

I cry my heart out it's bound to break,
Since nothing matters, let it break.
I ask the sun and the moon,
The stars that shine,
What's to become of it, this love of mine.

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald
Stan Kenton w/Cyd Charisse
Sonny Rollins Quartet
Jack Jones
Ray Charles

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANK!

Wave

By Antonio Carlos Jobim
1967

Originally conceived as an instrumental, this breezy bossa nova tune first appeared on Jobim's album of the same name. The Brazilian composer wrote lyrics for it when Frank Sinatra asked to record it with him as part of his 1970 Sinatra & Co. album. On that record, Sinatra sings the lowest note of his career, a low E-flat. In Portuguese, the name of the song is "Vou Te Contar".

Lyrics:

So close your eyes
For that's a lovely way to be
Aware of things your heart alone was meant to see
The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream together

You cant deny dont try to fight the rising sea
Don't fight the moon, the stars above and don't fight me
The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream together

When I saw you first the time was half-past three
When your eyes met mine it was eternity

By now we know the wave is on its way to be
Just catch that wave don't be afraid of loving me
The fundamental loneliness goes whenever two can dream a dream together

Recorded By:

Oscar Peterson
Sarah Vaughn
Ella Fitzgerald
Mel Torme
Buddy Rich

Glad to Be Unhappy

By Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart
1936

An example of a song which was not an instant hit, but rather took off decades later. It was originally composed for Rodgers and Hart's stage production On Your Toes, in which it was introduced by Doris Carson & David Morris. But it was not recorded very often at all until the 1950s, possibly having to do with a popular Broadway revival in 1954. Sinatra recorded it immediately after on his In the Wee Small Hours album, and the rest is history. A charming tune with one of the most enjoyable Rodgers and Hart verses.

Lyrics:

Look at yourself,
If you had a sense of humor you would laugh to beat the band.
Look at yourself,
Do you still believe the rumor that romance is simply grand?
Since you took in on the chin,
You have lost that toothpaste grin.
Your mental state is all a-jumble,
You sit at home and sadly mumble.

Fools rush in, so here I am,
Very glad to be unhappy.
I can't win, but here I am,
More than glad to be unhappy.

Unrequited love's a bore,
And I've got it pretty bad.
But for someone you adore,
It's a pleasure to be sad.

Like a straying baby lamb
With no mammy and no pappy,
I'm so unhappy, but oh, so glad.

Recorded By:

The Mamas & The Papas
Billie Holiday
Lena Horne
Nancy Wilson
Carmen McRae

I Think of You

By Jack Elliott, Don Marcotte & Sergei Rachmaninoff
1941

Inspired by the gorgeous melody from the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, this tune was adapted by Elliott, with lyrics added by Marcotte. Tommy Dorsey's orchestra introduced it with a young Frank Sinatra on vocals, and Frank would later revisit the song on his 1957 album Where Are You? One of the finest examples of a classical piece being adapted into a pop song, with Rachmaninoff's lush original melody blending perfectly with the heartbreaking Marcotte lyrics.

Lyrics:

In the hush of evening,
As shadows steal across my lonely room,
I think of you,
I think of you.

From afar the music
Of violins come softly through the gloom.
All I can do,
Is think of you.

Oh, I can see you standing there before me.
And I can hear you whisper,
"You adore me."

So when dusk is falling,
I live again the loveliness we knew.
I think of you,
I think of you.

Recorded By:

Frank Sinatra
Mildred Bailey
Jane Powell
Tierney Sutton
Johnny Desmond

Violets for Your Furs

By Matt Dennis & Tom Adair
1941

A tender, haunting ballad from the same duo that gave us "Let's Get Away from It All" and "The Night We Called It a Day". This sublime number was written for the Tommy Dorsey orchestra, with a young Frank Sinatra as vocalist. Lyricist Adair actually worked for the Dorsey band at the time as an arranger. Sinatra would later revisit the tune for his 1954 solo album, Songs for Young Lovers.

Lyrics:

It was winter in Manhattan, falling snow flakes filled the air,
The streets were covered with a film of ice.
But a little simple magic that I learned about somewhere,
Changed the weather all around, just within a thrice.

I bought you violets for your furs,
And it was spring for a while, remember?
I bought you violets for your furs,
And there was April in that December.

The snow drifted down on the flowers,
And melted where it lay.
The snow looked like dew on the blossoms,
As on a summer's day.

I bought you violets for your furs,
And there was blue in the wintry sky.
You pinned my violets to your furs,
And gave a lift to the crowds passing by.

You smiled at me so sweetly,
Since then one thought occurs,
That we fell in love completely,
The day I bought you violets for your furs.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
John Coltrane
Stacey Kent
Frank Sinatra
Joe Lee Wilson

I've Got You Under My Skin

By Cole Porter
1936

For those keeping score, last Wednesday marked the second anniversary of Standard of the Day, and in honor of this, I present one of the true diamonds of popular song, Cole Porter's timeless classic from the MGM musical Born to Dance, originally sung by Virginia Bruce. Of course, the Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra, would make this one of his all-time signature tunes thanks to an incredible recording on the 1956 Capitol album, Songs for Swingin' Lovers. The wonderful, rolling melody; the jubilant lyrics; and Sinatra's expertly eloquent phrasing married to Nelson Riddle's jaw-dropping arrangement--for these reasons and more, this composition is a true American treasure.

Lyrics:

I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin

I've tried so not to give in
I've said to myself this affair never gonna swing so well
So why should I try to resist, when baby will I know damn well
That I've got you under my skin

I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

Don't you know little fool, you'll never win
Why not use your mentality, wake up step up to reality
But each time I do, just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
'Cause I've got you under my skin

Recorded By:

Louis Prima & Keely Smith
Diana Krall
Ella Fitzgerald
Peggy Lee
Dinah Washington

One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)

By Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer
1943

Arguably the finest product of the legendary teaming of Arlen and Mercer, two songwriters of equally titanic stature. It has become the all-time classic saloon song, thanks in great part to its iconic interpretation by Frank Sinatra, who turned it into something of a performance piece. However, it was originally written for Fred Astaire, who introduced it in the musical film The Sky's the Limit. It doesn't get any better than Arlen's laconic, smoky melody paired up with Mercer's timeless, aching lyric...

Lyrics:

Its quarter to three,
There's no one in the place, except you and me.
So set 'em up, Joe,
I got a little story I think you oughtta know.

We're drinking my friend
To the end of a brief episode.
So make it one for my baby,
And one more for the road.

I know the routine,
Put another nickel in the machine.
I'm feeling so bad,
Won't you make the music easy and sad?

I could tell you a lot,
But you gotta to be true to your code.
So make it one for my baby,
And one more for the road.

You'd never know it,
But buddy I'm a kind of poet,
And Ive got a lot of things I wanna say.
And if I'm gloomy, please listen to me
Till it's all all talked away.

Well, that's how it goes,
And Joe, I know you're getting anxious to close.
So thanks for the cheer,
I hope you didn't mind
My bending your ear.

But this torch that I found,
Its gotta be drowned,
Or it soon might explode.
So make it one for my baby,
And one more for the road.

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Perry Como
Billie Holiday
Frankie Laine
Iggy Pop

Let's Get Away from It All

By Matt Dennis & Tom Adair
1941

An ode to vacation traveling made popular by the Tommy Dorsey orchestra in a recording featuring then band-singer Frank Sinatra, along with Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers. A "catalog song", it lists various destinations across America in clever fashion. It was rerecorded some 15 years later by the solo Sinatra on his Come Fly with Me album.

Lyrics:

Let's take a boat to Bermuda
Let's take a plane to Saint Paul.
Let's take a kayak to Quincy or Nyack,
Let's get away from it all.

They say there's no place
quite like home
A charming thought it's true
But until the world we roam
how can we be sure

Let's take a trip in a trailer
No need to come back at all.
Let's take a powder to Boston for chowder,
Let's get away from it all.

We'll travel 'round from town to town,
We'll visit ev'ry state.
I'll repeat, "I love you sweet!"
In all the forty-eight.

Let's go again to Niag'ra
This time we'll look at the Fall.
Let's leave our hut, dear,
Get out of our rut, dear,
Let's get away from it all.

Recorded By:

Gene Krupa & Anita O'Day
Frank Sinatra
Della Reese
Dave Brubeck
Fats Waller

Learnin' the Blues

By Delores Silver
1954

The song that would become Sinatra's biggest hit of the 1950s has a very mysterious back story. Written by 25-year-old amateur songwriter Silver (real first name Vicki), it was first recorded as a demo by local Philadelphia crooner Joe Valino. Silver would then send that demo to Frank, who selected it and made her an offer to publish the song through his own company, Barton. Valino would later claim to have been muscled out, and prevented from recording the song himself. In any event, a true Sinatra signature tune that has become a standard.

Lyrics:

The tables are empty - the dance floor's deserted
You play the same love song - it's the tenth time you've heard it
That's the beginning - just one of the clues
You've had your first lesson - in learnin' the blues

The cigarettes you light - one after another
Won't help you forget her - and the way that you love her
You're only burnin' - a torch you can't lose
But you're on the right track - for learnin' the blues

When you're at home alone, the blues will taunt you constantly
When you're out in a crowd, the blues will haunt your memory

The nights when you don't sleep - the whole night you're cryin'
But you can't forget her - soon you even stop tryin'
You'll walk that floor - and wear out your shoes
When you feel your heart break - you're learnin' the blues

Recorded By:

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Michael Buble
Lou Rawls
Rosemary Clooney
Frank Sinatra

The Christmas Waltz

By Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne
1957

"And this song of mine, in three-quarter time..."
This sweet modern Christmas carol was originally written for Sinatra's Capitol Records Christmas album, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, by his dear friends and accomplished songwriters Cahn & Styne--who also wrote "Mistletoe & Holly" for the same album. Since Frank introduced, it has become a cherished holiday standard.

Lyrics:

Frosted windowpanes,
Candles gleaming inside,
Painted candy-canes on the tree.
Santa's on his way,
He's filled his sleigh with things,
Things for you, and for me.

It's that time of year
When the world falls in love,
Every song you hear
Seems to say,
Merry Christmas,
May your New Year's dream come true.

And this song of mine,
In three-quarter time,
Wishes you and yours,
The same thing, too.

Recorded By:

Nancy Wilson
Peggy Lee
Harry Connick Jr.
Jane Monheit
Doris Day

I'm a Fool to Want You

By Joel Herron, Frank Sinatra & Jack Wolf
1951

Another of the most personal of all standards. Sinatra co-wrote this song--one of a handful he ever penned himself--in the midst of his tempestuous relationship with gorgeous movie star Ava Gardner. Sinatra left his first wife for Ava, and married her shortly after recording this tremulous ode to self-loathing. Reportedly, he recorded it in a single take, then nearly broke down and walked out of the studio.

Lyrics:

I'm a fool to want you.
I'm a fool to want you.
To want a love that can't be true,
A love that's there for others too.

I'm a fool to hold you.
Such a fool to hold you.
To seek a kiss not mine alone,
To share a kiss that Devil has known.

Time and time again I said I'd leave you.
Time and time again I went away.
But then would come the time when I would need you,
And once again these words I had to say.

Take me back, I love you.
Pity me, I need you.
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong,
But right or wrong I can't get along
Without you.

Recorded By:

Billie Holiday
Dexter Gordon
Tierney Sutton
Chet Baker
Oscar Peterson

Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)

By Fred Fisher
1922

Oddly enough, although this song was published first in 1922, it remained relatively obscure and unperformed for 17 years, until it was reintroduced in the Astaire/Rogers vehicle The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. When first published, it was popularized locally in the Windy City by vaudeville singer Blossom Seeley. Today one of the great themes of one of America's greatest cities, it received it's most famous recording by Frank Sinatra on the soundtrack to the 1957 movie The Joker Is Wild.

Lyrics:

Chicago, Chicago, that toddling town.
Chicago, Chicago, I will show you around.
Bet your bottom dollar you lose the blues in Chicago, Chicago,
The town that Billy Sunday couldn't shut down.

On State Street, that great street, I just want to say,
They do things they don't do on Broadway.
They have the time, the time of their life.
I saw a man, he danced with his wife,
In Chicago, Chicago my home town.

Recorded By:

Tony Bennett
Count Basie
Al Jolson
Leadbelly
Billy May

Everything Happens to Me

By Matt Dennis & Thomas Adair
1941

A brilliant tune written specifically for the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and Frank Sinatra. Dorsey met Dennis through mutual friend Jo Stafford, then a singer for the bandleader. Dennis met Adair at a nightclub gig and asked the struggling poet to compose the song's cleverly self-deprecating lyric. A songwriting team was born--Dennis & Adair would compose many other future standards, including another Dorsey original "Let's Get Away from It All".

Lyrics:

Black cats creep across my path
Until I'm almost mad.
I must have roused the devils wrath
'Cause all my luck is bad.

I make a date for golf – and you can bet your life it rains.
I try to give a party - but the guy upstairs complains.
I guess I'll go through life just catching colds and missing trains;
Everything happens to me.

I never miss a thing - I've had measles and the mumps.
And every time I play my ace my partner always trumps.
I guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps;
Everything happens to me.

At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me.
That love would turn the trick to end despair.
But now, I just can't fool this head that thinks for me.
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air.

I telegraphed and phoned, sent an Air Mail Special, too;
You answer was goodbye - there was even postage due.
I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you,
Everything happens to me.

I've never drawn a sweepstake, or a bank night at a show.
I thought perhaps this time I'd won, but Lady Luck said no.
And though it breaks my heart, I'm not surprised to see you go,
Everything happens to me,
Everything happens to me.

Recorded By:

Charlie Parker
Chet Baker
Billie Holiday
Woody Herman
Branford Marsalis

Polka Dots and Moonbeams

By Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke
1940

First recorded by the Tommy Dorsey band, this was actually the first hit record from Dorsey's new boy singer Frank Sinatra. An extremely popular jazz standard, it was covered by just about every big band of the era, and continues to be popular with modern jazz vocalists. A sweet and pleasant standard if ever there was one.

Lyrics:

A country dance was being held in a garden.
I felt a bump and heard an "Oh, beg your pardon"
Suddenly I saw polka dots and moonbeams
All around a pug-nosed dream.

The music started and was I the perplexed one.
I held my breath and said "May I have the next one?"
In my frightened arms, polka dots and moonbeams
Sparkled on a pug-nosed dream.

There were questions in the eyes of other dancers,
As we floated over the floor.
There were questions, but my heart knew all the answers,
And perhaps a few things more.

Now in a cottage built of lilacs and laughter,
I know the meaning of the words "Ever after"
And I'll always see polka dots and moonbeams
When I kiss the pug-nosed dream.

Recorded By:

Diana Krall
Bill Evans
Sarah Vaughan
Count Basie
Lester Youn

Sleep Warm

By Lew Spence, Alan Bergman & Marilyn Keith
1958

Written for Frank Sinatra by the same composer who gave him Nice 'n Easy, this song was recorded by the Chairman during the sessions for his superb Only the Lonely album. It was also recorded shortly thereafter by Sinatra comrade Dean Martin for his album of the same name (which Sinatra conducted).

Lyrics:

Sleep warm, sleep tight,
When you turn off the light,
Sleep warm, sleep well, my love.

Rest your head on your pillow,
What a lucky pillow.
Close to you, so close to you all night.

Sleep warm, sleep well,
Let dreams within you dwell,
Sweet dreams of me, my love.

Close your eyes now and kiss me,
And whisper you miss me,
Sleep tight, sleep well, sleep warm.

Recorded By:

Stacey Kent
Meredith D'Ambrosio
Frank Sinatra
Dean Martin
Tomasz Stanko

Close to You

By Jerry Livingston, Carl Lampl & Al Hoffman
1943

Introduced by Frank Sinatra during his early tenure at Columbia Records, this song would remain a regular part of the Chairman's repertoire. He would later re-record it as the title track of his excellent 1956 album with the Hollywood String Quartet. Not to be confused with the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song of the same name (which Sinatra also recorded in 1970).

Lyrics:

Close to you, I will always stay.
Close to you, though you're far away.
You'll always be near,
As though you were here by my side.
No matter where,
In my dreams, I'll find you there.

Close to me, sharing your caress.
Can't you see, you're my happiness.
Wherever you go,
My heart will go too--what else can I do?
It only wants to be
Close to you.

Recorded By:

Brenda Lee
The Doors
Sarah Vaughan
Nelson Riddle
Perry Como

Full Moon and Empty Arms

By Buddy Kaye & Ted Mossman
1945

This richly beautiful popular song is one of many whose melody was inspired by a movement from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. In addition to this tune, introduced by none other than Frank Sinatra during his Columbia period, the concerto also produced "I Think of You" by Don Marcotte & Jack Elliott (1941) and "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen (1975).

Lyrics:

Full moon and empty arms,
The moon is there for us to share,
But where are you?
A night like this could weave a memory,
And every kiss could start a dream for two.

Full moon and empty arms,
Tonight I'll use the magic moon to wish upon.
And next full moon,
If my one wish comes true,
My empty arms will be filled with you.

Recorded By:

Freddie Hubbard
Sarah Vaughan
Eddie Fisher
Nelson Eddy
Maynard Ferguson